NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill delivered a career-defining knock on Day 2 of the second Test against England at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, bringing up his maiden Test double century in emphatic fashion. With this monumental effort, Gill became only the third Indian to score a Test double hundred in England, and the first Indian captain to achieve the feat on English soil.Gill took 311 balls to reach the landmark. Upon reaching the milestone, he celebrated with passion — punching the air, removing his helmet, dropping to one knee for a fist pump, followed by his trademark bow. A wide smile lit up his face as the Indian dressing room stood and applauded the young skipper’s milestone moment.This knock not only marked Gill’s first Test double hundred but also placed him in elite company. Among Indian captains, only Virat Kohli (7 double tons) has scored more. Others to have reached the 200-run mark once as captain include MAK Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and now Shubman Gill.Significantly, Gill’s 200 is just the second double hundred by an Indian captain in overseas Tests, after Kohli’s 200 against the West Indies at North Sound in 2016. Gill also got to his double century in just his third innings as captain, the joint-quickest for India, alongside Sunil Gavaskar (205 vs WI, Wankhede, 1978).He also created history by becoming the first Asian captain to register a double century in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia). The previous best was Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 193 at Lord’s in 2011.Gill also etched his name into a rare list of captains with double hundreds in England. His effort is the 11th such instance, with only one — Graeme Smith’s double tons at Edgbaston and Lord’s in 2003 — coming at a younger age.At 25 years and 298 days, Gill is now the second youngest Indian captain to score a Test double hundred, behind MAK Pataudi, who achieved the feat in 1964 at 23 years and 39 days.
